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How To Cheat In Schools

Cell Phones and iPods Are the Newest Modes for Cheating

Apr 30, 2007

Schools are banning cell phones and iPods because students are using these devices to cheat on tests.

The Past

The Baby Boomer generation occasionally cheated by asking a friend for a few answers on homework. There were those glances at "Richard's" test because he always did well. And, when desperate after being ill, a few may have asked to copy an entire assignment. When caught, there was shame and parents were horrified that their child was not being honest.

Today

Cheating is not only continuing in schools today, but it is much more frequent and bold. Students go on MSN at home and compare answers. They sit in the commons area in school and copy an assignment in the presence of peers. Some go into lockers and take another student's completed work and pass it off as their own leaving their friend stranded with a zero for a grade. And, when parents are told that their child was caught cheating, the reaction can be surprising. Many parents are still extremely disappointed in their child, but some deny their child could do such a thing. Some parents even use this incident to accuse the teacher of lying or finding fault with the assignment as unreasonable and anyone with a brain would cheat just to complete it.

ACT and SAT Tests

Cheating is becoming so accepted that parents actually pay someone to cheat for their child on ACT or SAT tests. A fake ID is made and the professional cheater will take the SAT for a high school student who wants to get into a more prestigious school than high school efforts will allow. It may cost $800 or more, but the end seems to justify the means.

Cell Phones

Many school districts have banned cell phones. Silent Ringers on cell phones enable students to call each other and text answers without teachers hearing them. New York City is being sued by parents claiming that children are not safe unless they have cell phones. Italy has joined in the ban of cell phones. While safety may be an issue on rare occasions, students are using camera phones to:

cheat on tests
arrange drug deals
arrange fights for YouTube
harass other students in locker rooms and bathrooms
call a friend during class time
harass teachers

After school, students load the camera video onto a website for the world to enjoy the debasing of students or teachers. This has become a new form of harassment, Cyber-Bullying.

iPods and Zunes

The latest tool for cheating are iPods and Zunes. These devices are so small that they can be hidden easily under clothing. Students can download formulas, vocabulary definitions, and study guide answers. The day of the test, they send the wire up their sleeve, rest their head on their hand to hide the earbud, and cheat. Meridian, Idaho has banned iPods from school for this reason. [Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Writer, Detroit Free Press, April 27, 2007]

More Bans

Schools in Seattle, WA and St. Mary's College, a high school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada have banned cell phones and digital media players this year. The University of Tasmania in Australia has banned iPods, electronic dictionaries, CD players and spell-checking devices.

Some Encourage iPods

Duke University in North Carolina is providing iPods to students and has been doing so for three years. Tim Dodd, executive director of The Center for Academic Integrity at Duke says the music players are invaluable for some courses. At Duke cheating has declined over the past ten years because the community expects academic integrity. "Trying to fight the technology without a dialogue on values and expectations is a losing battle. I think there's kind of a backdoor benefit here. As teachers are thinking about how technology has corrupted, they're also thinking about ways it can be used productively." [Rebecca Boone, Associated Press Writer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, seattlepi.nwsource.com, April 27, 2007]

Technology is here to stay. The ideal would be if students could use the new technology with integrity.

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

The copyright of the article How To Cheat In Schools in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish How To Cheat In Schools in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Comments

May 1, 2007 9:27 PM

Naomi Rockler-Gladen :

This is so disturbing. I didn't realize students could use iPods to download info and cheat until a TA pointed that out.

In my classrooms, unless I say something, students will sit there and text message right in front of me. Even the good students. I think text messaging has become so much a part of their lives that they don't see it as rude.

May 2, 2007 8:47 AM

Barbara Pytel :

I find it is also quite disturbing that it's considered normal behavior to cheat. There seems to be little guilt when cheating and little shame when caught. It is treated very lightly like having a bad hair day. Students look at you as if you are unreasonble when you take their study guide away from them during a test. I'm sure colleges are seeing a bigger problem than in the past.

May 4, 2007 11:38 AM

Dorit Sasson :

I didn't realize that cheating has become so problematic in the States. I thought it was prolbematic in Israel.It seems like technology has become more and more of an issue and less learning is actually going on.

Jul 4, 2007 9:11 AM

FirstName SecondName :

I've not noticed cheating to be that rampant really. Perhaps part of the blame here rests on the pressure to get results in GPA's and grades rather than the focus of the education being for your own benefit/understanding. If you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.

Jul 4, 2007 2:31 PM

Barbara Pytel :

Where is "here?" Your location?

Sep 28, 2008 3:15 PM

Guest :

you really do not know how hard it is for someone to get good grades. and with parents pushing you every step of the way, you try and find a way of getting information and getting it quick. i may sound rude but you know that you don't want your kids to look like loser, so you push them to get better grades and if they don't understand a cretain concept, they'll find a way of understanding that concept (even if it means cheating).
you find it disturbing but we as students find it as a way of getting by to make our parents happy. plus there is alot of students competing for the same spot. so if cheating to get a higher GPA then the next person is the way to go, then so be it.

6 Comments